Exploring Personal Experience On Job Satisfaction

Question

Task: Summarise the concept of job satisfaction using 3 (three) relevant theories. Also, choose a job that you have been employed in, whether part-time or full-time, permanent or temporary, in the profit or not for profit sector in which you were either ‘extremely satisfied’ or ‘extremely dissatisfied’. Describe the job and its positive and negative features from your point of view?

Answer

Introduction:
Job satisfaction is a matter of utter importance in today’s competitive world. Theorists like Maslow, McClelland and McGregor has strategically talked about job satisfaction in everyday life. To be satisfied in a job involves a key word; motivation. Motivation as we all know is an instinct or feeling that guides us to do whatever is needed to reach our goal. It involves a lot of cognitive forces like social, biological and emotional which finally makes it a behaviour.

Theories of job satisfaction:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - Maslow was one of the first theorists who talk about motivational theory. According to him there is a hierarchy system that works to enable a man to be satisfied in his job. The hierarchy consists of physiological needs, esteem, belongingness, safety which leads to self-actualisation (Oved 2017). If employees feel safe in their workplace or feel included, needed or accepted then they can flourish better which in turn would directly affect their satisfaction in jobs.

McClelland’s Achievement Model - McClelland also talked about a very psychological aspect which can motivate a person to be satisfied with their job. He said that there are three driving factors of motivation one of which can motivate employees and these are achievement, power or affiliation. If employees get recognition for the work that they haveperformed then they can feel affiliated and then would thrive to do better to achieve a more powerful position (Gelhard 2017). He talked of how human mind works and tries to understand from daily life.

McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y - McGregor invented Theory X and Theory Y whereby he talked how manager’s feeling about his employee would affect the management style. He said that if a manager is of the view that his employees are not happy with the work, he would show authority to get the work done whereas if she or he finds that employees are content they would give them ownership. Theory X though is making the manager feel negatively about the employee will compel them to reward, motivate etc continuously. Theory Y has a more collaborative trust-based relationship which by default makes the employee happy with their job (Prottas and Nummelin 2018).

The concept of job satisfaction supported by other researchers:
Mroz and Allen (2020) talked of a very relevant point, the issue of coming late at work and providing with an explanation. As someone who studies and works simultaneously it becomes very hard to juggle both daily. It is often assumed that a person turning up late at work is the worst performer in the group and often that leaves a mark on the persons reputation and the group. The research had been done by. Dettmers et al. (2016) talked about a very important aspect; work hours getting extended owing to technological advancements which in turn massively affects a person’s ability to be satisfied with their job. It is found that work hours getting extended effect a person’s mental emotional well-being drastically. The leisure time is needed then by the person to recover and it cannot be said that the person is being lazy. The emphasis was also given on leisure time where a body needs to physically heal in order to be efficient. Wondra and Ellsworth (2015) talked about a very important topic, empathy, which is very much needed in every workspace. We as human beings, go through a myriad of emotion, which comes out often at appropriate time. As our workspace comprises of a very important aspect of our life it can also be a place where we find comfort and thus, we might need others to be empathetic of our situation. Kern, Heissler and Zapf (2020), talked of how social stress at work can add to the psychological strain and well-being. The research also showed a direct relationship between social support, social stressor and self-esteem. This also is an important factor, to maintain work life balance, thereby increasing job satisfaction. The last research work that I would like to discuss about is by Fladerer et al. (2020), who has shown the importance of words in employer employee relationship. The employer cannot work smoothly without the presence of their employees; thus, it becomes very motivating when employees feel included as a team. This increases loyalty of the employee and increases their job satisfaction levels.

My Job Description:
The workspace that I would like to talk about is my experience of being a team leaderin a project manage company, which I do not want to disclose and as an employee I relate to these theories personally as well.
The researches done by various people at various point of time are very relevant with my job profile. I worked as a full-time employee in the organisation for more than two years and experienced some issues that compelled me to feel the necessity of having a job satisfaction in the work place. I personally felt that higher authorities need to look after possible spaces for further formation so that employees can work efficiently and enthusiastically. As a responsible team leader, I came across various team members who were often not satisfied with their works or the existing leadership style and facilities provided by the organisation. It thus made me feel as a team leader that I needed constant support from my managers to ensure that I couldengage my members for the long hours and their efforts was noticed. The overall organisational environment was negative impact upon me. However, I expect that this can be altered successfully by applying motivational theories.

Requirement of Maslow’s concept:
According to Maslow’s theory, I feel our company needs to focus on basic needs and workplace as well as financial safety so that members can get influence to work efficiently. Moreover, managers also need to encourage social needs of them by binding a strict working hour so that they can manage work-life balance happily (Rofcanin et al. 2019). Moreover, appreciation and respect are also crucial as these increase self-esteems of them.

Requirement of McGregor’s concept:
McGregor’s theory also had a direct implication on my work depending upon the perception of my team members. I felt my manager needed to implement an authoritarian form of management as my team did not like their work and had little motivation (Strini?, Carlsson and Agerström 2020). From the theoretical concept, I realise that this model is very applicable and consequently guided people through the process of micromanagement so that they complete their task properly.

Requirement of McClelland’s concept:
I also realise that our manager applies McClelland’s concept to influence our teamwork. The higher authority needs toencourage us forfurther achievement, affiliation and power. To start with the affiliated-related issue, it was seen that people with disabilities or people who belong from certain ethnic groups faced a lot of backlash and criticism, which are often quite unnecessary and hard for them. I often found my co-workers coming from certain ethnic group were treated very badly compared to us. Though the organisation had zero tolerance for such things but often these people could apparently give a negative aura. It might seem that this created a negative influence on the other groups but, they were equally efficient, effective and leave a very positive impression on other fellow workers (Locke and Latham 2019). I felt thus that these groups should be allowed to have amalgamation with other groups so that there is an environment of inclusivity which would in turn help in the well-being of the employee, keeping them satisfied. Another very relevant aspect is the balance between work life and personal life. It is often seen that work hour gets unusually extended by the employer without any regards to the employee’s personal life. Especially for people like me, who are working and studying simultaneously, it becomes very hard to juggle both lives simultaneously (Kashfi et al. 2019). Thus, proper breaks, rest spaces and work hours should be kept in mind. The pay of every part time worker is not huge so the employer should also be mindful of that and not overwork their employees. Another very important aspect which comes hand in hand with this is a proper balance, a person can thrive well when they spend quality time with their family members, it is thus very important for workspaces to be considerate about not just aged people but also of young members who can be part of various families(Dai et al. 2015). The workers I find are very diligent about their work and they deserve the support from their employees, it also serves as a major bummer in the job satisfaction aspect. It thus would be sad, if my employer at any point judges me because I arrive late. Rather it would be great if my work ethics and effort is judges and I am treated accordingly. I will feel great if my store makes a conscious effort of trying to include empathy as a part of the work culture.

Conclusion:
Therefore, according to my perspective, work motivation is essential for each employee as I personally realise it. The motivational theories always try to give proper guidance to the higher authorities in an organisation. I feel very negative vibes in my workplace and hence I also think that my manager should take proper motivational theory to encourage team member without doing any discrimination.